Scandal used to be, scandalous. Bad news prompted bad publicity, which lead to bad consequences.

Someone once said any publicity is good publicity. I think Tiger Woods would disagree.

The scandal of bad choices damages self-worth.

Moses struggled with his self-worth. He was a murderer; pursued by the civil authorities he fled for his life. He left his princely role, his family, friends, people and nation. Followed by scandal he fled.

And along came God with an offer to be a hero if he faced his scandal. Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. Now go…” [Exodus 3:11-16]

I remembered something sweet someone wrote about me once on an online journal that she had canceled in 2005. Deleted five and a half years ago and it only took me a couple of minutes to find it: “Scott is back! Nice and whole again! No really I was freaking out when he left. It was like “NO ONE TO TELL THE TRUTH TO!”

Wow!

Here are some helpful practices to use to avoid your own scandal:

Don’t assume any email, text, message, chat, photo or video is deleted or is going to remain private.

There is no changing your mind in cyberspace—anything you send or post will never truly go away.

Don’t give in to the pressure to do something that makes you uncomfortable, even in cyberspace.